Backdoor Price Increase Perhaps the key issue in housing at the moment — besides the just-released March Case-Shiller numbers showing that housing nationally touched a new low — is the initiative by lenders and some in Congress to mandate 20% down payments. In theory, the proposal makes a lot of sense: Buyers who put down 20%...Read More
Real Estate Pop Quiz Quick, which of the following items make housing more expensive? A. Higher interest rates; B. Limiting (or eliminating) the mortgage interest deduction; C. Less capital for funding mortgages, due to a shrinking role played by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the so-called Government-sponsored enterprises); D. Requiring Buyers to put down 20%....Read More
